Happiness
by Crazy Amazing
Summary: Miles Edgeworth wonders if he is truly happy, having not seen a certain spiky-haired defence attorney in seven years.


**Note: My summer holiday begins today. Why not kick it off with some Miles Edgeworth fiction? I haven't actually played Apollo Justice (I refuse to) but I've read enough about it to think I know the plot. Hopefully this makes sense; it's set just after the game. I'm currently playing the first Ace Attorney Investigations for the second time, and fell in love with Miles all over again. There's just something about his cravat and his pink- sorry, _wine red_ suit.**

* * *

Happiness

It had been seven years since I had last seen _that man_.

It wasn't anything quite as dramatic as others believed; it was simply that we were both rather distracted with our own lives. He had a disbarment charge to take in his stride, and I was neck-deep in Interpol cases. It goes without saying that I did not doubt he was innocent of the charge. As if he would stoop to using forged evidence. I scoffed at the idea when our mutual detective friend broke the news to me. And then later, when I received a phone call from the man himself, I was certain he hadn't done it.

That was the first of our distant correspondence. Over the years, we kept in touch through various telephone calls, letters, and emails – but never in person. How could we meet, when I was hopping all over the world and he had his head down, trying to find a way to prove his innocence?

"You are a fool, Miles Edgeworth," Frankziska was fond of repeating when I had the fortune to be back in Germany at the same time she was. "A hopelessly foolish fool who foolishly deludes his foolish heart."

Her partner Adrian had chided her the last time.

"Don't be so hard on Miles, darling. I'm sure he and Phoenix know what they're doing." At some point, Adrian had become familiar with my first name. I suppose it was to be expected after she became a firm fixture in my adoptive sister's life. Franziska split her time between America and Germany so she could balance her relationship and her work. It wasn't difficult – another thing Franziska liked to point out to me.

If I ever thought being in a relationship with the woman she loved would make Franziska von Karma any less insufferable, I was being naïve.

I knew Franziska had my best interests at heart, and that made it worse. She thought he and I had had some sort of disagreement which resulted in our avoiding each other, but that was not the case at all. If anything, I kept in closer contact with him than I did with Franziska herself. The subject of our relationship had not once come up in my conversations with that man, and I certainly wasn't going to be the one to introduce it.

"Don't be afraid, sir. You two are made for each other!" the ever-enthusiastic detective had insisted, chuckling. I had to take a back step at that one. The man in the blue suit and me, made for each other? Whatever would give Detective Gumshoe that idea?

"You're just like me and Maggey. We might not be the same but we fit together well. She can be strong for me when I need her to be and I do the same for her. We help each other be the best we can be." I didn't bother arguing that I was _nothing _like him or Ms Byrde, though I did raise the issue that it wasn't as if I needed _him_ to be a better person. I had improved and grown on my own – that is, learnt what it really means to be a man and a prosecutor without _his_ help. What could that defence attorney possibly offer me now?

Detective Gumshoe scratched his head and shrugged. "I dunno, sir. I guess being with him would make you happier?"

Why must my happiness be based solely on _him_? I could be happy without Phoenix Wright. I **was** happy without Phoenix Wright. That is, not to say that I was happy because I didn't have him, just happy that he was there and I didn't feel like I needed him in my life. Did that make sense?

"Woof!" Pess yipped happily. I groaned at my desperate stupidity. I had taken to seeking advice from a _dog_ of all things. Admittedly a rather well-bred and obedient dog, but a dog all the same. Rubbing her affectionately behind the ears, I sat back in my armchair. Was I happy without Phoenix Wright? Not totally without him, because of the frequent communication we shared, but without physically seeing the spiky-haired idiot grinning in front of me?

That, it seemed, was the million dollar question. I had gone seven years without asking myself and now it was as if the answer could not stay quietly beneath the surface much longer. I had to know this about myself. Was I happy?

I enjoyed my job, using logical reasoning to uncover the truth and with it, justice. There were a few people present in my life who cared about me, and I them. I had not experienced a nightmare for almost a decade. It was no longer a struggle to look myself in the mirror and make eye contact. But did all of this mean I was happy?

"I **am** happy," I muttered to myself. "But… Could I be happier?"

Suddenly seized by anxiety, a stray thought occurred to me: what if _he_ was happier without _me_? He had a teenaged daughter now; somebody who loved him unconditionally. I often heard her in the background of our phone calls, and Phoenix's responses betrayed how much he cared for her. There may not be room for me in Wright's life.

Pess's wet nose made contact with my hand, snapping me out of my negativity. This was all speculation – _conjecture_. I had no testimony to back up these claims, no evidence. As a man of the law, it was the least I could do to investigate the case thoroughly until the truth was revealed. I could decide what to do with the truth after I had found it.

With that decided I picked up my phone and dialled Wright's number. I was back in America so didn't have to worry about a time difference. I hadn't yet told him that I was back, actually, though I wasn't sure why not. I had been in the country for over three months. I may have taken the time to wonder as to why that was but I chose instead to store the information at the furthest corner of my mind, to examine later.

It didn't take long for Wright to answer the phone.

"Edgeworth?" he breathed. He sounded almost giddy.

"Wright," I said in greeting. "Can we talk about… us?" I was hesitant now, all of my earlier confidence diminishing in a hurry. The longer this conversation took, the faster doubt would seep in.

"Yes. Oh, _yes_. I was about to call you, actually. Edgeworth I… I retook the bar exam. I'm a lawyer again. Apollo helped me clear my name and now I'm back in the game! I'm gonna turn around the American judicial system – the one right now just isn't working anymore – and maybe expand my company, get a few more young lawyers on the payroll and-"

"Wright, slow down," I interrupted, just barely able to keep up with the babble spouting from his over-excited mouth. "I'm glad you finally proved your innocence. Congratulations are in order. Your idea to change the legal system, well you're not wrong about it needing that change. It sounds good."

"Thank you," Phoenix said, sounding a lot calmer now. In fact, he almost sounded too calm for him, which should have told me something was amiss. "Edgeworth, I wondered if, now that I have my life sorted out at last… You and I could, well… Um…"

"Come on Wright, spit it out," I barked impatiently.

"God, I should have known you would ease my pressure!" he snapped sarcastically. "Talking to you would cure anyone of nerves – your powers of sympathy are undisputed! It's so annoying that I know you're like this and yet I want to ask you to dinner anyway."

"What! I…" I was temporarily lost for words, but quickly recovered myself when I realised I did not yet have all the facts for this case. I ceased doing an impression of an aquatic animal to find out the relevant information. "Dinner? A social meeting?"

"No. Dinner: a date."

I smiled. A wide, genuine smile that used muscles I wasn't aware of prior to this moment, and I had a feeling that if this dinner went well, I would have more use for those muscles. Dinner with Wright. A date.

Clearly, my earlier assertion had been entirely off the mark. My heart was thumping wildly at Wright's offer and I could _feel_ the joy warming up inside me. All my questions had been answered without me even having to pry. Wright did feel something for me, like I felt something for him. I wasn't going to make the dinner into an event glutted with overenthusiastic hormones and call it anything stronger than 'mutual attraction', but it was a start.

_This _was happiness. I had just been content before, convincing myself I didn't need Wright, that our virtual communications were enough. I wasn't often so wrong about myself, but there was always a time to learn. And god was I going to be happy learning with Phoenix Wright, the ace attorney.

"I look forward to it."


End file.
